Get In
by GeekyLoveLorne
Summary: "Sorry for the misunderstanding Ms. Swan, shall we get you ready for the ball?"
1. Dating Danger

_Okay here's the first chapter of Get In. Now this is my first multipart fanfic so I hope that I did well, but I'll let my work speak for itself._

"I don't like it."

Casey looked at her roommate through the bathroom mirror. He could be considered handsome, if you could get past his smirking and self-love. Well he's normally smirking, right now he's scowling. Casey knew she was the reason for it, but she didn't know if it was out of lazy hunger or something more. And since she didn't want to talk about something more, Casey just met his gaze and said, "My hair or that I'm not cooking for you tonight?"

Derek didn't miss a beat, his scowling turning a more normal looking expression, for him at least, "Your hair always looks like a mop; I'm talking about going on a date with some loser you met online."

Finishing her hair, Casey put away her brush and pushed Derek out of way as she left the bathroom, trying and failing to ignore his musky scent. "Marian's not a loser, Derek. He enjoys the better things in life."

Derek followed her into the kitchen, their usual boxing ring, and continued the argument, "I think you meant the boring things, Princess."

Casey leaned onto the back of a chair to put her shoes on and gave Derek an insulted look, "The museum is not boring, it's beautiful and informative."

Derek leaned in close to her, as if to share a secret, "No Case, that's what a keener is." Pulling back and making a face, he added, "Besides, Nora and my dad will have my head if anything happened to you."

Casey stepped away from him, deciding it was time to change the subject to something they both hated to talk about, Derek's love life, "Unlike you I don't need a babysitter. Why are you still here anyway, isn't it Carmine night? She must be a real catch if you've been seeing her this long."

Carmine had been a girl that Derek had met shortly after moving to Kingston, and that was about all that Casey knew about her. Every Wednesday, Derek would get up early, disappear for a few hours, come back wearing different clothes (not that Casey noticed), go to his classes, then disappear until around 3am the next morning, wearing what he had in the morning (again not that she noticed), talking about how fun Carmine had been. If Casey had cared, she might have been jealous. Which she wasn't.

As she had hoped, Derek was flustered; but this time he quickly recovered, something in his eyes as he talked send a small shiver down Casey's spine, "Leave Carmine out of it, this is about some psycho you're about to go see."

Derek had always been critical of her dates, but this was strange, it's almost like he didn't want her to go. Casey wished that she was the reason, but she knew better. "What makes you think he's a psycho?"

"He had to go online to get a date; something's got to be wrong with him," spinning a finger next to his head in a loony gesture.

Casey placed her purse on the table and went through it to make sure she had everything: _wallet, car keys, apartment keys. Good that's everything_. "I went online, what does that say about me?"

Derek again closed the distance between them, placed a hand on the table, and leaned in close and said, "I've always known you were a Space Case."

Casey's blood started to boil. She was tired of Derek's games. Why did he feel like he had a right to toy with her emotions, especially before she went on a date? "I'll bet that Carmine is the name of your newest _toy_." Her eyes glancing at his hand telling him know exactly what she meant.

Anger crossed Derek's face; grabbing his coat he shot back "Have fun with Boring Ann at the mausoleum, Princess," and stormed out the door. Casey was almost beaming. _Nice one, McDonald._

Still smiling at the thought, Casey glanced at her watch. Her smile slimed as she saw that she was running late. And, hearing the engine fade into the distance, Derek had just taken the car. As her smile vanished, she realized that couldn't be coincidence and let out a well-practiced, "DER-EK!"

Casey had to pay the cab driver double to break the speed limit (and a few other traffic laws) but she got to the museum only a few minutes late. While the taxi zoomed in and out of lanes, her mind went over the last six months and how her relationship with Derek had changed. After graduation, things between them had reached the highest level of respect and honesty, and Casey had believed that it get better. Despite her protests, she had also been glad Derek was going to Kingston. Maybe without their family and friends around, they could have figured out what was going on with them and how to deal with it.

Then she had found a girl naked in Derek's room. He had denied that anything had happened or that he even knew that she was in there. He pretended to be angry and demanded to know what the girl thought she was doing. His actions had brought tears to the young woman's eyes and had quickly turned into one of Casey and Derek's classic shouting matches, waking up the rest of the house. After that, any respect that she had had for Derek was gone. She still wishes that he was the man that he could be.

To make matters worse, his college roommate had somehow learned of Derek's breakup and had decided he didn't want the Casanova anywhere near his girlfriend; so he didn't have a place to stay in Kingston. At the same time her roommate decided to join a Sorority, leaving Casey without some to slip the rent with. George decided to best solve both problems by creating one more, having Derek move in with Casey.

The move itself seemed normal enough; they fought over where everything went and who got the bigger room; but afterwards it was somehow different. Like tonight, they would fight as they always did, then he would openly flirt with her; only to pull back quickly afterwards and act like it never happened. It was getting more than a little annoying.

After the cab dropped her off in front of the museum, Casey wandered around the door trying and failing to get her mind on her date and off her stepbrother. It was times like this that she wondered what she had done to be punished with Derek. Her thoughts were finally brought to the present when a gentle hand touched her on her shoulder. "Casey McDonald?"

Turning around, she found herself facing a good-looking man in his mid-twenties. He looked like a teacher's assistant with his dark vest and white polo shirt. "Are you Marian Roberts?"

The man flashed her a smile and said, "Nope, street corner psychic. What me to predict your future?" Putting a hand to his head, he pretended to concentrate. "I see a man changing your life in the near future."

Folding her arms, Casey leaned against the wall. Hiding her interest, she said, "What does this man look like, oh Great Swami?"

Continuing to faux-concentrate, Marian said, "He's about 5'7, wearing vest and kakis and is talking to a beautiful woman." Snapping his eyes open, he said, "What do you? I am Marian Roberts."

Offering his arm to an amused Casey, Marian said, "Shall we see what we can see?"

About two hours later, Casey McDonald was in love. Head over heels in love. The kind of love she had felt only once before, with Der-, with someone who wasn't real. But _this_, this was real. She wasn't one for falling in love at first sight, but then again, she hadn't. Over the night, Marian had won her over, heart, mind, and soul. There hadn't been a piece of work that he didn't at least know one thing about that wasn't printed on the plaque next to it. Not a minute passed when she wasn't trying not to laugh. If only Derek could be more like Marian.

As they walked past an alley to Marian's car, she found herself hanging onto every word he said. Then he wasn't saying anything. It took a second for Casey to realize that he had stopped talking and just standing. Concerned, she turned around and asked him what the matter was. It was then that Casey saw him toying with something in his hands.

Not looking up, Marian responded, "Putting the silencer on."

"What?"

Raising the item in his hand to the beam of light from the streetlamp, he pointed at it and chuckled, "Never got used to these things."

In the well-lit street, Casey could tell it was a gun, and while she didn't know much about firearms this one looked like the type she saw cops use on TV. Stepping back, she again asked, "What?"

Marian raised the gun, an almost apologetic look on his face, "You seem like a nice girl, and I am sorry, but a job is a job." Before he could fire a black corvette shot out of the alley heading straight for them. Casey screamed as she felt a rush of hot air hit her face, forcing her to close her eyes.

BANG

After a few seconds of wondering if she was dead, Casey opened her eyes to find the black corvette had hit her date/would be killer. The man she knew as Marian lay a few feet from where he was just standing moments ago. His gun was nowhere to be found. Casey was about to check to see if he was alive, when the driver of the corvette, seeming to read her mind, revved the engine, warning her away from the hit man. Stepping back, Casey watched the driver slowly move the car between her and her hopefully only injured assassin. Finally stopping, the corvette sat idly beside her. Casey tried to look through the windows, only to realize that they were too tinted to make out much of the inside or its driver. Not that it mattered, she had a good idea of who is was. An idea that was confirmed when the passenger door popped open revealing a grim looking Derek at the wheel. "Get in."

_Okay this was the first chapter of Get In. Was it good? Bad? Need a little work? See a grammar or spelling mistake? Please post a review of thoughts and as always, please be honest but polite._


	2. Road Trip

_Thank you all for the positive reviews to the first chapter. Now I wasn't going to upload this until next month, but since I finished early here it is with some answers and even more questions._

"Get in."

Casey just stared at Derek for what seemed like hours to her. It was true that she had suspected that he was the one behind the wheel of the black corvette,_ where did he even get it_, she thought, but seeing it was different.

After another minute, Derek got out of the driver side and started to walk around the car, "Normally I would love the look on your face, but," he stopped, delivered a quick kick to Marian's head before picking up the gun and continuing around to her, "we don't have that much time."

Derek flipped something on the side of the gun before shoving it into the back of his pants. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he led her to the passenger side and shoved her in. Casey turned around in time to see Derek flip a switch on the door and slam it.

A quick try at the handle told her that he had put the child lock on. She tried to crawl across the driver sit, only to be stopped by Derek who pushed her back over to the passenger side and started backing up the car before he was all the way in. "You can yell at me during the drive, Princess, but right now we've got to get out of here."

"You just hit someone with a car, Derek, we need to stay here until the police arrive," Casey said as she pulled out her cellphone and started to dial

Derek calmly reached over, yanked the phone from her hand, and threw it out the window, "No police. The right people have already been informed. I called them while I was saving your life from the psycho I warned you about."

"He's a psycho? He didn't just hit someone with a stolen car and kidnap the only witness." The shock of the last five minutes was starting to pass, leaving Casey confused and angry.

"I'm not kidnapping you, Case, I'm protecting you." Derek countered, saying it, Casey noted, not as if it was an opinion, but a hard fact.

"From what? How did you even know I was in trouble?" Casey could tell that Derek knew more than he was saying.

"I can't tell you and you're still in trouble until we get to New York." Again he said it like there wasn't any other way, but this time Casey caught a hint of fear in his voice.

"Can't or won't?" Casey needed to know what was going on, but she wasn't going to beg him to tell her.

Derek took his eyes off the road and again gave her that look that gave her a small shiver. "Pick one. Now sit back and get comfortable, we're not stopping for a few hours. If you get bored, your stuff is under the seat." Turning the radio on, he became focused on the road, giving Casey the impression that the conversation was over, whether she wanted it to be or not.

They rode in silence for about an hour. Derek focused on getting them to wherever they were headed; Casey trying to figure out what was and is going on, her mind going over what she knew and more importantly what she didn't. Her date had tried to kill her but Derek had saved her. He must have known before she left because he tried to stop her. Who wanted her dead and why? What did Derek know about what's going on and how did he know it?

Finally tired of not coming up with answers and more than a little curious of what was under her seat; Casey reached down and found her backpack. Pulling it out, she started to look through it. Inside she found some of her textbooks, her laptop, the book she's been reading, her tooth and hair brushes, and something that made her red in the face, change of clothes for two days, a _complete_ change of clothes. "You went through my dresser?"

Derek sighed and turned off the radio, "There wasn't any other way, princess. Ludlum could've had someone watching the apartment and we didn't have enough time for me to distract them while you packed."

"Who?" The anger Casey had almost subsided instantly with the thought that she might finally start getting answers to what the hell was going on.

Derek gave her an annoyed look that seemed to say 'Who do you think?', "The Romeo I ran over. He's an assassin who picks his aliases from Robert Ludlum characters. No one knows his real name. And don't worry about me hitting him with the car, last year he escaped Interpol agents by jumping out a fifth story window into traffic."

"How do you even know this?" Casey had the feeling that she was going know more and understand less by the end of this conversation.

Derek quickly snapped, "It doesn't matter. Someone's put a price on your head and Ludlum won't stop until you're dead or we get somewhere that makes killing you a bad idea." His voice was tight with frustration, an unwillingness to continue the conversation, and again maybe a little hint of fear.

"Like New York." That's where Derek had said they were headed.

"Yes, now drop it." So now at least Casey knew the where, if nothing else.

"Why?" If she doesn't ask, she can't figure out what's going on.

Again Derek snapped, "It's not important, just that by Saturday night this all will be over." It was clear that he didn't want to have this conversation, but realized that it can't be avoided.

Casey noticed his reluctance, but she didn't care. She was finally getting some answers and if that meant dragging it out of Derek a little at a time, so be it. "What about school? People are going to notice we're not there. At least they will with me, your teachers probably don't even know your name and your teammates will be glad you're not flirting with their girlfriends." And she wasn't going to pull any punches either.

Derek flashed her a quick smirk that seemed to say he thought what she said was funny, "I left messages with our counselors. I told them we had to leave because of a family emergency, but will be back by Monday. And just because I'm not a grade grabber like you, doesn't mean my teachers don't know me. Professor Collins is having me give a lecture on how work place ethics have evolved over the last hundred years; you can sit in if you don't believe me." Shifting gears he added with another quick smirk, "You don't know me as well as you think McDonald."

Casey could feel her anger coming back. Sure Derek had saved her from Marian or Ludlum or what his name was, but he was acting like they hadn't known each other for that long. Like the last three years never happened. "Oh really? You're an immature jerk who loves tormenting your siblings, who skims by on his good looks and hockey skills, and can't stay in a relationship because it takes too much effort. I can't wait for Carmine to figure that out and dump your ass." With all the chaos that had happened and was happening, Casey needed some normalcy, even if it involved Derek's dating life.

Derek didn't say anything for a couple minutes making Casey she had hit a nerve. Finally he spoke up, "I think tonight has shown I can do more than 'skim by' Case. Did it ever accrue to you that I treat Edwin like crap so that he doesn't want to be me? Because believe me McDonald, no one wants to be the real Derek Venturi." Reaching over, opening up the glove box, and pulling out a few papers, he added with yet another smirk, "And the only way Carmine is going to dump me is if this car flips over and I fall out." And with that he passed the papers to Casey.

Now it was Casey's turn to not say anything as she went through the papers. Papers that said the corvette that they were in belonged to one Derek Venturi since the start of the fall semester. Papers that said the car had the custom plates _Car Mine_. Papers that seemed to say that Derek hadn't had a girlfriend since he broke up with his last one. That he had been having a secret life at least since they had moved to Kingston. That she really didn't k now Derek. Putting the papers back, Casey could only stare at the man she really doesn't know. Who was Derek Venturi and what the hell was going on?


	3. Ground Rules

_Thanks for the reviews, I heard your criticisms about Casey not being herself either but I promise this chapter has her back to her old self and that soon enough you'll see why she was so off. In this chapter, Casey tries to gain control of the situation but doesn't, and Derek gives answers that bring in more questions. Plus a little Dasey teasing._

Casey was silent for a few moments. She had just learned that she was riding Carmine, Derek's mysterious Wednesday date. It's not as dirty as it sounds, turns out Carmine is a black corvette with the plates _Car Mine_. She thought back to see if there had been any clues.

Well, there had been one of their fights, when Casey asked why his new girlfriend was so different from all his past ones. "I can be myself around Carmine, she lets me be me. She doesn't say anything when I need to vent and she's there if I need her. All I have to do is keep her warmed up and make sure she has everything she needs."

Then there was the description that Derek had given her, "Dark skinned, bright eyes, and purrs like a dream when I get her started. Keep asking questions Case and I might think you're jealous."

That's what Casey needed to get back to the present. "Derek, stop the car."

Glancing over at her, he flipped down the sun visor and pointed to a GPS strapped to it. "Can you hold it for a few more minutes; we're almost at the gas station."

"I don't have pee, just stop the car."

"We don't have time for you to freak out."

"I don't freak out. I want answers and we're not going any further until I get them." Checking her seatbelt, Casey started getting herself ready to do something very stupid as she eased to the edge of her seat.

Derek gave her a questioning glance, "I'm the one driving, how are you going to stop the car?"

Casey gave him a smug look and said, "Like this;" 'this' being her slamming her foot on the break. As expected the corvette screeched to a halt; leaving tire marks on the highway and causing the other drivers to honk and shout in anger. It also caused a surprised Derek to slam his face on the steering wheel.

Before he could react, Casey pulled the keys from the ignition and started to roll down the window. "Now start talking or we'll be here all night waiting for a tow."

Flipping on the cabin light, Derek glanced at the rearview mirror to check out the bruise forming on his forehead, "Damn it, Casey. You don't know what's at stake here. Now give back the keys and we'll talk about this while we drive."

"No, Derek. I deserve some answers now. I've had my dream guy try to kill me, been saved by my nightmare of a stepbrother, and met his mysterious girlfriend, a freaking car," gesturing around the cabin to prove her point. "Now give me some straight answers before the keys go out the window."

Derek smirked at her and asked, "Do you mean the unopened window Spacey?"

Casey turned and was surprised to see that the window hadn't moved an inch from when she had started. Before she could say anything, Derek spoke up from behind her, "Power windows, the nobs are just for show. Now give me the keys before I have to take them from you."

"Touch me and I'll scream."

"Go ahead," Derek said tapping on the window beside him. "Carmine is soundproof."

Then giving her that look again, he added, "Please Case."

While she was surprised that Derek was asking for something, Casey wasn't going to give up any ground. "Why would you need your car to be soundproof? And we're parked in the middle of the highway Derek, someone's sure to have called the police."

"That could be a bad thing and we don't need that right now."

"Why would calling the police be a bad thing," Casey let every inch of her anger creep into her voice as she finished her sentence, "and stop dancing around my questions, and give me a straight answer, darn it."

Derek was about to say something when the radio came alive, _"Car 51, we've gotten reports of a parked car in the middle of the highway, check it out and report back."_

Derek slammed his hand against the steering wheel, "Damn it. Fine Casey, have it your way." Moving quickly, he pulled something from beside his seat and lunged at Casey. She only caught a glance of the items reflective surface, before Derek grabbed her arm and wondered for a second if he had pulled a knife on her.

Casey threw a punch, then a kick, she wasn't going down without a fight; she could already feel the cold metal digging into her skin. Derek let her hit him while he grabbed and twisted her arms behind her seat. Click.

Click? It took Casey a moment to realize that Derek had handcuffed her. Try as she might, she found she couldn't move her arms, they were pinned behind her. She could only watch as Derek checked to make sure her seatbelt was on, took the keys from her and started the car back up.

He didn't say anything until they pulled up to the gas station, a few minutes later. Not that Casey would have heard him over her own shouts and threats about how much jail time he was going to get for kidnapping and assault. Finally putting his hand over mouth and spoke, "I didn't want to do that Case. If you promise to follow the rules, I'll take the cuffs off."

Casey tried to respond but, Derek kept his hand pressed against her mouth, "The rules are simple, follow them and you'll seat in the front seat. Break them, and I'll tie you up and put you in the backseat."

Raising his other hand, Derek started to list off his rules, "Number one: Do what I say when I say it. Number two: Until this weekend is over, you can't talk to anyone we know." Yet again, that look of his past through his eyes and sent a shiver down Casey's spine, "And number three: Never leave my side. I understand you're scared but I'm doing this to keep you safe and I will follow the rules too." Restarting the count on his hand he continued, "Number one: When you ask a question I'll answer it, maybe with vague answers, but I will answer it. Number two: I'll listen to your suggestions and if they're safe, I will try them. And finally, number three: when this weekend is over and all my secrets are exposed, whatever you decide goes. I'll turn myself in or just move out of the apartment. Whatever you want, I'll do."

Lowering his hand, Derek didn't wait for an answer as he turned off the car, uncuffed Casey, and handed her the keys. Flipping on the cabin light again, he took a small container of what looked like makeup to Casey, and started to apply it to the both the bruise on his forehead and the bruises that had started to form from Casey punching him. "Good, this is good. With a little practice you might stand a chance against E-Ludlum and his crazy boss."

Forcing Derek to face her, Casey said, "Before I agree to anything, I need to know what is going on."

Derek pulled her hand away from him, and placing the container in it, said, "Put this on your wrist, it'll conceal and heal your bruises. As to your question, to you mean in the world, the private war you've been dragged into, or with us? Because I'll need a paper for the first, I don't want to answer the second, and only you can answer the last one" As he spoke the last words, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

"DER-EK," Casey shouted after him. His bouncing between dead serious and annoyingly teasing was continuing to grind on her nerves; but he had just said that he would be vague with his answers and, looking at both the keys and the ointment in her hands, he seemed to trust her and genuinely want her safe, he had, after all, run over someone trying to kill her. Finally, watching as Derek walked around the car to her side and almost as important as promising answers, was him commenting on the two ton elephant between them, something that not only had she thought neither of them would ever admit to, but until tonight she thought it was the biggest problem in their lives.

Opening the door, Derek looked her dead in the eye and said, "Do we have a deal or are you riding in the back?"

With the door open, Casey could've easily called for help and/or made a ran for it, but putting the keys into her pocket, applying the ointment to her skin, and tossing the container to Derek, she decided that trust was a two way street, "Deal, now tell me about this 'private war'."

Catching it and without missing a beat, Derek gestured to the building and said, "Fine let's walk and talk because I need to take a piss as much as you need answers." Not waiting for answers, he started sprinting towards the gas station; of course Casey had noticed the green taint that had crossed his face as she had answered, so he probably needed to empty more than his bladder just then.

As she was about to enter the building, Derek shot back out, heading around the back, and gesturing for Casey to follow. She had suppress a laugh, all night Derek had mostly been calm and in control, but either admitting to the tension between them or just the thought of telling her about his 'private war' had been enough to make him puke. She waited until she didn't hear anything for a minute before knocking on the door. "Are you all right, or do I need to call in backup for you?"

Opening the door, Derek, with Casey noticed a folded paper towel in his hand, glared at her, "Cute, Case. Real cute." Then opening the door further, he gestured for her go in as he came out, "Your turn, the handle sticks but it does flush."

Seeing the inside of the restroom, Casey noted that it looked like the worst of what movie gas stations had taught her to fear. Stepping back she shot Derek a disgusted look, "Thanks, but I think I'll use the lady's room."

"That is the lady's room," Derek countered, pointing to the door where it was marked unisex.

Walking quickly away from the repulsive grime room and towards the front of the store, Casey "I'm good."

Spotting the way she walked, Derek, "Right princess, I can tell."

Opening the storefront Casey shot him a dirty look, "I'm fine, now you were saying about your 'secret war'."

Taking the door from her, Derek gestured for her to go inside, "Fine." Tossing the bathroom key to the cashier he gave a quick look around, lowered his voice, and began to give a narrative Casey could tell he couldn't wait to get over with, "About twenty years ago, a mafia don started coming to London to hide some of his ill-gotten gains. While there during one of his visits he met a woman and had a child. What are you getting?"

"You just told me a criminal hid his money in the UK and fathered a kid, what's not to get?" Casey whispered back to him.

"I meant to drink, Spacey. What are you getting to drink?" pointing to the coolers in front of them as he opened one and took out a soda."

"Tea, now get back to your story or better yet a point."

Grabbing her tea, Derek pointed her towards the fountain drinks and continued, "First off, it wasn't England's London, it was our London. Second, there is a point to this. Ten years later, I met this kid at summer camp and became friends with them. They were a little off, but we had a lot in common so I ignored it."

Derek grew quite, and Casey could tell he was reliving a bad memory. She didn't want to push him, but she needed to know what was going on. "Until?"

Coming out of his memory, Derek gave her a confused, "Until?"

Casey gave him an annoyed looked, "You wouldn't being telling me any this unless this friend of yours is the person behind Ludlum attacking me. So things must have sorrowed between you and him."

Derek flashed her a proud smirk and continued, "You're right. My ex-friend is the one behind everything."

Pulling out the biggest cup, he spun it into the air before catching it behind his back and starting filling it with water, as he continued his story, "Anyway, because of a promise I didn't realize I made, someone got hurt and I finally saw how disturbed my friend really was. They threatened to come after my family if I told anyone."

Derek emptied the cup and began filling it again. Casey gave him a questioning look, but let him continue, "So I kept my mouth shut and let everyone think it was an accident. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't shake the guilt of what I had done. Finally I decided to appear cold and selfish, because I felt that I didn't deserve to be liked or even loved. But then the first of my two girls come into my life."

Again Derek emptied the cup and began to fill it for a third time. Casey was about to ask him what he was doing when it hit her. "DER-EK," she shouted as she punched him and ran to get the bathroom key back from the cashier.

After she was done doing her business, Casey stared at the dirty mirror and just thought about Derek and what he had just told her. She had a hard time matching the serious man that she had shared a car ride with, with the bane of her high school existence. _Can I really believe that Derek is having a feud with a crime boss' son and no one knows about it? But what's the alternative? If he is lying, then what is going on? It can't be another one of his pranks, can it? No, no Marian or Ludlum or whatever his name really is had pointed a gun at me._ That thought sent a small shiver done her spine. Marian had pointed a gun at her, but not only had he not shot her, Derek had stopped him just in time, and was adamant that the police didn't get involved. But if it was a prank, what was the point? Could the whole thing be a trick to get her in bed?

The pounding on the door snapped her out of that train of thought. "Hurry up Case, we need to get back on the road."

"Just a minute, jerk." Then looking into the mirror, she said to herself, "Calm down Casey, you don't have all the answers. Right now you only have what you think you know and what little information Derek has given you."

Just then an idea struck her, _and the keys he gave me. They might have a clue to what's really going on._ Digging into her pocket, she pulled them out and started looking them over. There were only four there and Casey immediately saw the first two was the keys to the apartment. That might be a clue. When they first moved in, Derek insisted that they change the locks because who know who else had a copy. Maybe he was protecting her from something and not just being cautious. Hell, Derek is rarely cautious.

The other two keys looked like they were to the car. That was defiantly a clue. Why would Derek have a secret car if it wasn't for something important? Cars are expensive, especially with the work he must have had done it. Casey's eyes widened with another thought crossed her mind, _where is the money coming from?_ Derek worked at a dinner close to the apartment a few nights a week, but not enough to cover paying for a car and it going unnoticed. So he must have another means of getting money. But what was it?

Again Derek pounded on the door, "Come out now or I'm coming in."

Casey started to shout back "I'm coming…," when the keychain caught her eye. It had a picture inside of Casey and Marti playing outside with the words _'My Girls'_ written on the bottom. Derek had been talking about his girls when his prank had made her run in here. He had said he was ten when his first girl had come into his life, that fits the age difference between him and Marti; and when he had said there were only two of them, Casey had hoped that she was one of them, but she hadn't thought it was likely.

The door suddenly came open with Derek slamming in on it. He just stared at her for second, finally saying, "Done yet? Because we're leaving," grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the restroom.

Casey yelled, "DER-EK!" and pulled herself free. "I will not be manhandled."

Derek picked up a bag and two Styrofoam cups, flashing Casey a smirk as he gave her one, he said, "Pity, I'll have to remember that for later." Then becoming serious again, he continued, "We've been around here too long and we have a lot of road to cover before either one of us can sleep."

Taking the cup from him, Casey looked at it then at him. Did he just flirt with her again? "What's this and why can't I sleep in the car?"

Opening the door for her, Derek flipped the child's lock off and gestured for her to get inside. "Your tea, I don't want you spilling your drink all over Carmine. And I thought we would spend the time answering your questions." Moving to his side he threw the bag into the backseat and started pumping the gas.

Casey liked the sign of trust that unlocking the door had been, but she still wanted answers and was getting tired of being told to wait, moving around the car she tossed Derek the keys and started to ask them, "Do you really expect me to believe that you're some kind of government agent taking on the mob? That you just happened to be there when Marian or Ludlum or whatever his name was pulled a gun on me? What's really going on?"

Derek caught the keys, and gave her a frustrated glare, "I'm telling you the truth, McDonald. And I didn't just happen to be there. When I took the car, I had to quickly double back and sneak into the apartment while you waited for the cab. Then I had to race across town to get Carmine and get to the museum before anything happened. My heart was in my throat the whole time. After finding Ludlum's car, I decided to wait in the alley because I knew his boss would want it to be done somewhere dark and grimy just to twist the knife more. When you came out I was getting ready to drive Carmine through the front door."

"Fine, Derek I'll play along. Let's say for a second you're telling the truth. Why would this crime boss' son want me dead and not you?"

Slamming the gas lid closed, Derek put the pump away and shot back, "Because shitcrazy as they are, they want me by their side and to get rid of the competition."

Casey leaned against the car door to block Derek from getting in and crossed her arms letting him know she wasn't going to move until she got solid answers, "What competition? I don't want run a criminal empire."

Derek gave her a frustrated glare, "Don't act dumb McDonald; it's one of the few things that doesn't look good on you. They don't see you as a business completion, they see you as…"

"HEY! Is that your car?"

The pair turned to see a trio of bikers pulling up. And they didn't look happy.


	4. Punches and Near Kisses

_Thanks again for the reviews. I heard the complaint about the car and have put in a small bit to cover that. Hopefully it will cover some of the problems with some subtly. Hopefully. In this chapter Casey and the readers see a little of what Derek can do, Derek does more exposition, and of course more Dasey teasing._

"HEY! Is that your car?" shouted one of the bikers as they pulled up. Casey saw that while there were three bikers, they were only on two motorcycles. All the men were big and burly, so two of them sharing a seat would've been a funny sight if they weren't glaring at her and Derek. The one that had shouted got off his bike, and Casey could tell by the way he walked that he was the leader of the trio. His body was covered in tattoos of spiders, women, and on his chest was something that looked like a spiderwoman breathing fire.

Before she could get a better look at his friends, Derek pulled her away for the car and yanked the door open and shoved her inside. Leaning in close he passed the keys back to her and said, "Lock the doors. If it looks like I'm going to lose, get the hell out of here and don't stop until you feel safe. There's a letter in the trunk explaining everything. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you myself." Casey sees a look of guilt pass across his face, before it returns to his normal smug looking face. _Or maybe his mask would a better description._ Casey thought to herself. Eyeing her cup for a second, he adds, "And don't drink too much," grabbed his cup, and closed the door before she finish countering with, "Derek, you don't know how to fight."

Doing what she was told; Casey reluctantly reached over and shut the passenger door as well as making sure both doors were locked. Not happy with just seating and waiting, she started searching the car to try to find something to help Derek. From her searching she noticed that while the outside looked like a corvette, the inside was slightly different. She doesn't know much about car but she was sure that the seats were supposed to be lower and there should be a big compartment between them.

Other things Casey uncovered were a more than small collection of knives and gun clips, but oddly enough no gun. She knew that he had Ludlum's on him, but there didn't seem to be one in the car. _Where is it?_ Not that she could do much with it.

Glancing in the backseat, which wasn't really a backseat and wouldn't have been pleasant to sit back there, she saw Derek had leaned on the car as the spider biker and his two friends, who must have gotten off their bike while she had been searching, walked over to him. The spider biker seemed to be asking something but Casey couldn't hear him. Remembering that the car was soundproof and where she had found the controls, Casey hit the switch in time to hear Derek take a long loud slurp from his cup, and pat the roof of the car, "Yep, this beauty and the babe inside are all mine."

Watching through the side mirror, Casey saw the spider biker shove a finger into Derek's face, "You wrecked my man's ride with that stunt you pulled on the highway."

Derek glanced in Casey's direction, "My girl felt a little frisky, had an itch that needed scratching. No harm no foul."

One of spider biker's buddy speaks up, "No Harm? My bike is totaled; it's going to cost at least a couple grand to fix!" From the way the man was shaking, Casey was sure that he was high off something and seemed ready to snap.

Derek just gave the man an annoyed look, "So your bicycle got a little messed up. You look all right. Give me the name of your insurance so we can go on our way," and took another long annoying slurp from his cup.

This seemed to anger the bike owner even more and he lunged at Derek, screaming that he was going to make him and his bitch pay.

What happened next surprised both Casey and all three bikers. Derek slammed his cup against the bike owner's face, then grabbed the man by his throat and pressed onto the side of the car. "No one," he stopped for a second to deliver a quick jab to the spider biker's face who had tried to come to his friend's rescue. Starting again, he tightened his grip, "No one threatens Casey."

Flipping out his wallet with his free hand, he pulled out a card and held it out to the man, "Call it in. Get your motorcycle fixed. And next time you see a black corvette, head the other way."

The man spat in Derek's face, "Go to hell." Then a smile appeared on his face.

Casey could see in the mirror that the third man, who she decided to call curly because he looked like the character from the shorts Derek would watch sometimes, had finally decided to join the fray. She was getting to shout out to Derek, when he shot his leg back and right into the third man's stomach. Dropping his wallet, Derek released his hold on the man's throat, grabbed him with both hands and threw him into the spider biker. Casey saw a wicked grin cross his face, as Derek ran over and kicked the third man in the face as he was starting to stand up. "Fine you guys want to be rough? I've had a shitty day and needed someone to wail on." Dodging the spider biker's swing, Derek spun behind him and delivered a few quick jabs to the man's kidneys.

Casey watched in amazement as Derek just seemed to not be where the bike owner was throwing his punches. He wasn't dodging as much as just lazily moving out of the way of the hits. When Derek flashed her a smirk, Casey realized that he was showing off for her. But a quick punch to face brought both of them back to the fight. As some blood dripped down from the side of his mouth, Casey could see an almost predatory look come across Derek's eyes and suddenly all she could see of him was a fury of punches and kicks. Finally stepping away, the bike owner collapsed on the ground a bloody mess.

A shot rang out and Derek ran around the corvette and signaling for Casey to roll up the window. She rolled up the window but rolled down the passenger's one at the same time. Turning to where they heard the gunfire, they saw that the spider biker lifting up his friend as he leaved a shotgun at them.

Derek responded by pulling out the gun he had taken from Ludlum and took what seemed to Casey to be a well-practiced stance, "You need two hands to get off a good shot, I only need one. Want to chance it?"

Before the spider biker could respond, Derek spun around and let out a warning shot into the ground in front of curly, who had decided to try and sneak up on Derek for a second time. "I don't think so Q-Ball."

Hearing sirens, Derek let out a stream of curses as he ran the rest of the way around the car, hit the bald biker in face with the butt of the gun, which he again flipped the switch on it and shoved it into the back of his pants, and gestured for Casey to slide over and open the door. As she opened the door, Casey saw Derek grabbing his wallet off the ground and the items that had fallen out of it. The items being several large bills that she was sure that Derek or any average college student wouldn't have on them, a few different ids, and quite a few pictures of her.

"Casey. Move. Over. Now!" Derek shouted at her as he shoved the wallet, bills, ids, and photos into his jacket pocket. The sirens grew louder and the flashing lights were starting to appear in the distant.

"Don't yell at me, Derek," she shouted back. For a fleeting second, she was worried that the bikers would take this chance to gang up on him, but the sound of screeching tires informed her that they didn't want to be around for the police either.

Pointing to the approaching lights and sirens, he countered, "No time to be nice," his face becoming very serious, "or subtle," picking Casey up, he slid into the driver seat, slammed the door shut, dropped her onto his lap, and tore off down the road.

Because of the turns and speed Derek was driving at, Casey was forced to wrap her arms around his neck and hold on. This had made it so that their faces were only inches apart, leaving her very uncomfortable with the mix desire of wanting to slap his face and kiss his lips. Being this close she was able to see that his eyes seemed to have taken on a distant yet focus appearance, shifting every few seconds from to the road to the mirrors and the disappearing police lights. _Why is he afraid of the police?_ Thought Casey as Derek made a hard right and circled back on the road.

Finally slowing down, Derek's eyes cleared and he turned to look at her, seeming to see her for the first. He leaned in as if to kiss her only to yank back hitting his head on the door frame. Cursing under his breathe, he reluctantly pulled Casey's arms away from his neck and said, "Slide into your seat and buckle up, you're making it hard to focus on the road."

She was ready to argue but as Casey slid off his lap, she got a good idea what was distracting him and almost became a little distracted herself; but she came out of it when she noticed that Derek seemed to be fighting himself. Giggling one second, clearing his throat and trying to be serious the next, it kind of reminded her of something she read about drug addicts coming off a high. His eyes finally set on her and Derek let a loud whoop, getting excited as he told her what just happened, "Whoo man, when I saw the three of them I thought we were in trouble, but lucky for us their brains were in their muscles. I should've seen the shotgun though, that was another bit of luck that he decided to try to carry his friend when he started shooting at us. But it turned bad when the clerk called the cops, its not safe yet for them to be involved."

Reaching for Casey's hand, he added, "But that doesn't matter, you're safe."

Yanking her hand away from him Casey starting hitting him, "Safe? SAFE? You provoked them. Where did you even learn to fight? Or shoot a gun? What the hell is going on here?"

The hits seemed to snap out of his high, catching her wrists Derek gave her an annoyed look, "I'm awake, Case." Looking at her hands for a second, he seemed like he wanted to do something but released them instead, placing both of his back on the wheel. "I told you, my enemy wants you dead and I'm rescuing you. I learned how to shoot from the same person who taught me to fight," his face getting very serious as he said the last part, "my employer."

Getting even more annoyed Casey asked, "And that would be who, Jason Bourne?"

Taking his eyes off the road, Derek looked her dead in the eyes and with no hint of humor said, "Someone with a grudge bigger than mine against this psycho."

"That doesn't tell me anything, Derek." Casey spat back.

Pulling the car off to the side of the road, Derek turned the engine off and faced Casey, "I'm not going to tell you anything solid until you're ready. This isn't a game and my," he stopped and shook his head in a negative and started again. "No, our opponent hates to loss. They want you dead and me in mourning."

"Who are these they, Derek? Some mob boss' son that I've never met."

"Met? Princess, we went to school with this lunatic." Seeing the look of shock coming across her face, he added, "Oh yes, you know them and they've been trying to kill you since the minute we met."

"Why?"

"Because…" Derek seemed to be looking for the words before continuing, "I don't care about them like I do you."

Reaching behind his seat, he pulled out the bag, searched through it, and pulled out a notebook, small flashlight, and pen. Handing them over to Casey, he started the car up and started back onto the road, "Get your thoughts in order then ask your questions. While you're doing that, I'll continue my story."

Staring at the items in her hands, Casey's mind was racing with thoughts about what had just happened. Derek seemed to be telling the truth when he said this person being someone they knew. But Casey was also having to dealing with the increase in her heart rate at his admission that he cared about her and she found herself thinking about what that could lead to.

Finally her mind, and fear, won out and she tried to focus on what Derek was saying. "She was beautiful. No matter how much I wanted to act cold to her, all she had to do was smile and I would melt. Then our parents started having a falling out and I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So instead of a little sister, it was like I had a daughter."

As he said the last line, Casey let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. When she heard him talk about her, she had held it in jealousy that Derek had spoken of someone with such passion and only after hearing the last past did she realize he was talking about Marti. Feeling embarrassed that she was jealous of her step-sister, Casey focused more on what Derek was saying.

"Unfortunately our opponent had the foresight to arrange things so they could use Marti to get to me if need be. This angered me but I decided not to react and kept with my selfish act. Around this time my employer tracked me down and not so nicely asked questions about my involvement with the," Derek paused for a second, seeming to be struck by the haunted memory again, but this time he shook it off and finished with emphasizes on the word, "incident."

Casey made a note to ask him about the 'incident' when things had a chance to calm down and let him continue. After a moment of silence, Derek went on, "He wanted to know exactly what happened and wouldn't believe the story that my, our opponent, and I had agreed on. After about an hour, I told him the truth. He became enraged and wanted revenge, but he realized that targeting a ten year old would cause problems and decided because of our opponent's obsession with me, that I could do it. I refused and continued to refuse every time he came back, even when he revealed who their father was, for six years."

Derek turned and looked at Casey, who let out a small yawn. "Then the game changer happened. Dad met Nora and you came into my life. I knew right away that you were different from the other girls and so did our opponent. You had no problem calling me on my bullshit, fighting me at every turn; it was a breath of fresh air. I finally felt alive and thought that I might have a real chance at," he paused long enough for Casey to see a look of conflict cross his face before he finished with, "hope."

"How did Mom marrying George make you able to fight and shoot a gun?" Casey let out another yawn and was starting to feel very tired. The dashboard clock glowed with the time: 10:15. Little more than two hours since this craziness began, when her roommate had gone from being the bane of her existence to her rescuer and secret protector. When her life went from almost a Jane Austen novel of hidden feelings and refused emotions to an ironically a Robert Ludlum stylized tale of intrigue and unknown history.

Derek eyed her for a second, seeming to studying her before continuing, "It didn't. While I had been refusing to help him, I did eventually agree to take lessons in hand to hand combat and firearms should I ever change my mind. I needed something to keep my mind off my parents' divorce and the threat against Marti was real enough I couldn't ignore it. I proved to be a quick study and by the time we met, I had mastered a few dozen skills, not the least of all was the ability to hide my emotions from those closest to me. Unfortunately as I said, our foe knew me too well and saw you as a threat. I couldn't standby any longer and declared war. You can fall asleep if you want."

Casey let out another yawn and leveled her now drooping eyes on Derek. "What did you put in my drink?"

Derek gave her a questioning look, "What makes you think I put anything in your drink?"

Casey yawned again and tried to keep her eyes open. "You told me not to drink too much and I'm suddenly very tired."

Derek shook his head in disagreement, "Maybe I didn't want you to stop for another bathroom break." Casey was having a harder time focusing and was finding Derek's voice so soothing. Finally she couldn't fight it anymore and let the sleep claim her.

Sometime later she awake partially to Derek asking if she was asleep, the car seemed to be parked and he was on the passenger side. She heard Derek mumble something to himself about not wanting to use it like this but couldn't think how else to do it. This was followed by sounds of something being pulled out of a pocket and being opened up. Then she felt a cold metal sliding onto one of her fingers and Derek lifting her out of the car. She instinctually held onto his shirt and snagged her head into his chest, his heart acting like a calming lullaby.

Derek held her close with one arm while opening a door with his free hand. Walking into the opening he stopped and shifted Casey around in his arms. A voice spoke up from across from them, "Yes, how can I help you?"

Casey felt Derek's heartbeat speed up as he said, "I'm Martin Case and I would like a room for my wife and me for a couple of days."

_AN: I will be uploading a songfic tie-in for Valentine's Day instead of Get In. Also in April I will be uploading another chapter for Get In and a special story for Detective Conan. So the plan is no Get In for February, but a new chapter every month after that unless for some reason I can't make it. Then there will be a short story instead. And as always please review and thank you.  
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	5. Scenes in the Bedroom

_Sorry for this being late. In this chapter starts with Casey imaging the worst of Derek, he seems to confirm it soon after, and it concludes with her figuring out something unnerving. Enjoy._

Casey lay in the motel room happy and satisfied in the arms of the love of her life. The engagement ring he gave her shinning in the morning light. She was listening to the beating of his heart. Derek had one of his arms wrapped around her as he stared off into the distance. The last night was… was… amazing, wonderful, fantastic, fulfilling, completing. Yes, completing. Finally after three years, they had finally stopped being Derek versus Casey and became Derek and Casey versus the world.

She felt him shift around and give a satisfied sigh. Smirking down on her, he pulled his arm away her as he got out of the bed, "That was nice Princess, better than you friend." Flashing her an evil grin as outside the sky darkened, "And this I'm going to tell everyone."

Sitting up, Casey gave him a confused look, "What are you talking about?"

Derek's grin just grew as the lightning flashed outside, seconds later the thunder shock the windows. Grabbing part of the wall, he pushed it away revealing Marian and the three bikers from earlier. All four were crowded around a camera pointed towards her; she could hear the sounds of her and Derek's lovemaking coming from it. Derek stood off to the side, presenting the group like some of game show host, "Just this. Proof that little Miss Perfect slept with her no good step-brother."

Drawing the sheet closer around her, Casey stood up, trying to put as much distance between her and the crowd of men. "Derek what are they doing here?"

Stepping closer, Derek's smug grin sent shivers down Casey's spine. "Getting paid McDonald." Putting on a mocking sad face, he continued, as more lightning struck outside, "And I'm afraid I didn't promise them money."

Casey stood on the bed getting ready to run when the thunder hit, breaking the window and sending glass raining down on her. She barely had time to turn her head before the sharp shards starting cutting across her body. Turning back she was surprised to see that instead of the outside, the broken frame showed the familiar hallway of her home in London.

As she continued to watch, she saw herself walk out of the bathroom and head back to her room. Her past self, Casey somehow knew that it was literally a window into the past that she was now looking through, stopped in front of Derek's curious at the flickering crimson light that seemed to be coming out of the bottom of the door.

Carefully placing her hand against the door Past Casey felt for heat, before reaching for the doorknob with her other hand. Slowly opening the door, she called out, "Derek, what's with the li…" She stopped as she saw the answer to her questions. Small candles were lined up around the room and heard romantic music coming from the stereo. Finally her eyes settled on a woman laid seductively on his bed, flowers surrounding her naked body.

The woman slowly turned to look at her, "Derek were you about to get the wi… Oh!" Seeing Past Casey, she pulled the red sheet out from under her and covered herself. Looking a little nervous at her friend, she stuttered out, "Hi, Casey what are you doing here?"

In the present, Casey felt hands wrap around her neck. Derek whispered into her ear, "See Casey? You've always known the truth about me."

Casey was finding it harder to breath, Derek tightening his hold even more, continuing his taunting, "That I'm no good and that loving me was going to end badly. You just didn't know how badly."

Casey tried to fight back but couldn't focus. Her lungs on fire, Casey tried to swing at her attacker. Then she tried tossing her body around trying and failing to free herself. However she quickly discovered that she could barely move and that Derek didn't seem to notice her efforts. Her sight was darkening as blackness seemed to come over her. She tried to scream but without air nothing came out. It can't end like this. Not this way.

Again Casey blindly threw herself forward, only this time she didn't find a much resistance. Surprised, she fell backward on to something soft.

_Soft?_ Slowly feeling around, Casey quickly realized that she was resting on her bed, the covers and pillows soaked in sweat. _So it was all a dream? Derek didn't admit to having feelings for or rescued me from a killer? _Casey let out a small laugh. _Of course it was a dream. Derek being some kind of spy? Come on Casey, this is reality._ But as the thought crossed her mind she realized two things, first was that this wasn't her bed, and the second being that she was fully dressed.

Pushing the damp covers off her, she searched blindly off the side of the bed for a lamp or some kind of switch. Finding none, she swung her legs off the edge and got out of bed. Leaning against the wall, Casey tried to peer through blackness around her and get a sense of the room. It was dark, too dark. If this was a motel room there should have been light from a window, a crack in the door, something. But was it even a motel room? Her last memory before she had fallen asleep was accusing Derek of drugging her. She could have woken up for a few seconds while Derek had moved her, but, as she slowly touched her ring finger and felt a ping of lose at not finding the item in question, there wasn't much proof of that.

Slowly feeling around, Casey tried to find out more about where she was. There was a nightstand, but she found it missing both a lamp and an alarm clock. Opening the drawers, she ran her hands around the inside to see if anything was there. _Nope, empty._ Searching the wall behind it, she felt where the wall sockets were. _So they're just missing._ Finding the bed again, Casey decided to follow it around to the other side. As she went, she swung her hands blindly into the darkness, hoping to find anything there. Finally reaching the other side, she found the wall again and continued her search.

About five steps in, her foot brushed against something. Before she had a chance to figure out what it was her legs were swept out from out of her, her cry of surprise cut off by a hand clamping down on her mouth. The hand's owner stopped her fell to the floor by wrapping a powerful arm around her neck, acting almost as a muscular noose. Her attack whispered threateningly into her ear. "I should have known you would come. This ends now…" The voice paused for a second before releasing his hold and pushing Casey away from him.

Casey's vision was suddenly filled with brightness, a passing thought noticing that it had inverted her blindness from lack of light to nothing but. As her eyesight adjusted, the voice that she now recognized as Derek's spoke to her, anger with a hint of fear flavored his tone, "Casey! What are you doing moving around!"

Rubbing her neck, Casey tried to speak but found it hard for a moment. Clearing her throat, she was able to speak, "What the hell Derek? Where are we and why is it so dark?"

Reaching down, Derek pulled a black cover off a lamp and turned it on as he set it on a table in the room. "We're in a motel. We both needed sleep and a place to hold up during the day." Grabbing a bag from the table he gestured for her to sit down, "Let me look at your throat." Casey noticed that the bag was just one of three that were on the table.

Casey scanned the room and saw that it was indeed a motel room, but a motel room with more than a few custom changes. The television was covered with the similar black material that had been over the lamp. The window and the door to the outside were covered with a black sheet held on by duct tape. The table Derek had motioned to had been moved away from its corner and was now in front of the door. Leaning against the table was a door that had been taken off its hinges. Laid near that was a duffle bag and what looked to her like a yoga mat. The door was from the bathroom, its opening covered by a black bead curtain that seemed to block out any light from the inside. It was probably just the redesign, but she felt that something was off with the room.

Placing her hands on her hips, Casey just glared at him. "You attacked me." As she spoke her throat flared in pain. Casey had seen movies where someone was put into a chokehold and was fine as soon as they got out of it, reality, it seems, proved that to be complete fiction. Luckily she was able to hide her pain from her frustrating roommate. She was confused by her own action, but decided to ignore it. This wasn't the time to deal with her emotions. Unlike her she knew, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

Letting out an annoyed groan, Derek countered her statement, "You kicked me in the head." Pointing to his forehead where a bruise was forming, "Princess, you're better than an alarm clock. You know most people would've called out or stayed where they were. _But no_, you had to go fumbling around. Klutzilla strikes again."

"Some spy you are. How for even a second did you think I was Ludlum?" Casey shot back. She grabbed her neck in agony as it flared in response to her shouting.

Derek closed the small gap between them and pulled her hand away from her throat, a look of concern in his eyes. "I didn't think you were your Romeo, McDonald. I'm sorry I overreacted, but you need me to look at that throat to make sure there's no permanent damage. Or would you prefer to lose your voice." A small smirk past on his lips for a second, "Than again you couldn't lecture me ever again, so there is a bright side."

Casey gave him a glare as she wrenched herself free and headed to the bathroom, ignoring his protests that she could at least take the medical bag. Passing through the beads, she searched for then flipped on the switch. She could see that Derek had remodeled in here as while. The shower curtain had been removed and laid folded in a corner; the window in here was also covered with the black material, but Casey noticed that this one was nailed on. Something else she noticed was that the room was almost unnaturally clean.

Walking up to the mirror, she saw that her throat was red from Derek's attack. _This is crazy. _Glancing at her watch, Casey was surprised that it was almost 5 o'clock, but whether it was in the morning or the afternoon she couldn't tell from the device on her wrist. _So I was out for at least six hours._

Her thoughts of the time were interrupted by Derek walking in carrying the medical bag and her backpack. Tossing the backpack into a corner, he set the medical bag onto the sink and gave Casey an apologetic look. "If you wouldn't let me look at it, you can at least use this. There's some medical books and gel packs inside that might help. A shower will help you calm down from your nightmare." Seeing her questioning glance, he added with a sigh, "I have some experience with them, Princess. Just take care of your neck and get a cool shower. I need to take care of something and will be back in about twenty minutes, so don't try to leave." Not waiting for a response, Derek turned around and left.

Casey followed him out into the motel room, "Where are you going?"

Derek grabbed his coat from the back of a chair and let out an annoyed groan, "To check something out. Get your neck taken care of. Shower. And try to relax. Do some homework or something."

"I'm going with you." He might have just attacked her, but Casey didn't want to be alone right then. But as soon as she said it a thought crossed her mind.

Pulling the tape off the bottom and the sides of the door, he countered, "No you're not. It's not safe right now. You agreed to do what I say, so look after that injury and try to relax. Or I'm going to hold you down and do it myself." Pushing the covering away from the door handle, he seemed to have a thought of his own and asked, "Do you need anything while I'm out? I'll be back in no more than twenty minutes, maybe even fifteen."

"Fine. Something to eat would be nice." Casey might not be as good a liar as he was, but she had realized that this would be the best time to maybe find a clue. Derek had once told her that best lie was based on the truth and she was hungry. She might find some kind of hint to who their opponent is. If there even is one, the nightmare having reminded her that this wouldn't be the first time that Derek had blatantly lied to her.

Looking unconvinced for second, he gave her a smile, not a smirk, a real smile, "Okay food. I'll be right back. Remember neck, shower, relax." Opening the door, the morning light flowed in as he looked around the outside, "Try to do at least one before I get back." Casey noticed the worry in his voice. Stepping outside, he again said something unexpected, "Please Case."

Trying to hide her surprise, Casey nodded, "Fine, be quick." She was put off a little by Derek being so willing to believe her without a fight, but there had been a hint of both concern and guilt in his eyes since he realized that it was her he had been choking. Maybe he did feel bad about attacking her and was willing to do anything to make it up.

Looking around again, Derek closed the door with "Deal, Princess," and locked it.

Casey waited to hear the sound of a car leaving then to check if he was really gone, she shouted, "DER-EK!"

Nothing. She waited a few more seconds. Still nothing. Her throat hurting from the outburst, Casey realized that Derek was right and that she needed to take care of it. Going back into the bathroom, she open the medical bag and was surprised to see it was as well stocked as a paramedic's would be. Sitting on top of the various bandages, pills, liquids, and other medical paraphilia was a small thick book. Picking it up, Casey saw tabs on the side marking certain sections; most if not all she noticed, were how to treat wounds from fist and gun fights. With the tabs she was able to quickly find the right paragraphs and started to treat her throat.

Within a few minutes, Casey had a gel pack pressed on her neck and had started looking around the room. Checking the bedside table this time with light instead of her roaming hands, again she found it empty. Same for the dresser.

Next she turned her attention to the two bags on the table. Inside the first were a few rolls of the black covering, duct tape, a box of nails, a hammer and a power tool, which Casey guessed Derek had used to remove the bathroom door. The second held a collection of clips, a kit for cleaning firearms, but again no gun. He had Ludlum's gun, so where was his? _Did he even have one?_ She thought to herself._ He had to, didn't he? If he didn't then what did he need the ammo for? If he did have one, then where was it?_ Casey casted her eyes over the room looking for a place she hadn't ruffle through. Finally her eyes settled onto the bed. _Of course. With Derek there's always a bed involved._

Casey started with removing the covers and shaking them to see if anything fell out. Nothing. Next she checked the pillows. Nope. Then the mattress. No strange stitches or odd bulges there either. Slipping under the bed, Casey felt around the springs to see if anything was hidden there. She didn't find anything there either.

Crawling out, she felt something cold press against her leg stopping her. The springs above her creaked with a slight weight and Derek appeared looking down at her, "What are you doing?"

Before she could answer, her eye caught something and she knew what was off about the room. An empty phone jack, there wasn't a phone anywhere in the room. She was completely cut off from the outside world.

_Okay that was Chapter Five: Scenes in the Bedroom. Please be honest but polite in your reviews and I'll have the next chapter up in two weeks._


	6. Further Down the Rabbit Hole

_First off I apologize for this being late and promise that the next chapter will be up on time even if it's just two paragraphs. Next I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and having my stories Favorited. Now on to the story, in this chapter Derek gives some straight answers while showing some housekeeping skills, Casey thinks back to the night she lost respect for him, and finally not one but two invites to dance._

Casey jerked back as again something cold was pressed against her side, her head hitting the floor. Derek let out a small chuckle at this. "Mind telling me why you're under there or why the room looks like it was raided?"

Sliding out from under the bed and standing up, she gave him a dirty look, "I was looking for something." Casting her eyes around the room, Casey realized that Derek was right. In her rush to find the gun, she had turned the place into something resembling his bedroom. The blanket, sheets, and pillows were tossed around, both of the gun and tool bags were dumped on the table, all the drawers were pulled out laying scattered about the room and the mattress was pushed off the bed. Derek had moved out of her way was sitting on the box springs, a smoothie in one of his hands, it likely being the source of the coldness she felt earlier, a McDonald's bag in the other.

Standing up he handed the smoothie to her, a suppressed smirk on his face, "I'm really trying to not make jokes McDonald, but you're not making it easy. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a thick piece of black paper and handed to her. "There's a dance tonight. We can go if you want, but we'll have to be on the road no later than ten."

Not waiting for an answer, Derek started to do something unlike him. He started cleaning up the room. First he cleared off and set the table, then gestured for Casey to sit down and eat. Next he put the mattress back onto the box spring, fluffed the pillows, and tucked the sheets and blanket in. As Derek worked he talked with her, "I'm glad you took care of your throat," motioning to the gel pack on the dresser. Then cutting straight to the point he asked, "So what were you looking for?"

Setting both the paper and the drink down on the table, Casey decided that this was a good way to find out how truthful Derek would be, "Your gun. I know you have Ludlum's tucked into the back of your pants, but I haven't seen yours. I know you have one; why else would you have gun clips?"

Letting out a smile chuckle, Derek responded, "Always the keener, always the Space Case," took off his jacket and pointed to the holster on his shoulder, "I'll let it go because you're recovering from the choke hold, but you really didn't see this before I left?" Casey couldn't help but notice the look of self-loathing that crossed his eyes as he talked about his attack.

As soon as the thought that Derek really had a gun of his own sank in, another putted up to see how far he was willing to go to have her forgive him. "Wait, if there's two guns then I can have one."

Taking a step back, Derek held up his hands in a halting motion, "Wahoo there, Jane Wayne. It took years before my employer let me own one. We'll do some target practice tomorrow, okay? Then we'll work our way up to you having your own."

"Why tomorrow? If I have a gun then I would be able to defend myself." Casey stopped herself from adding _or don't you want that,_ deciding not to accuse Derek of keeping her dependent of him. She really wanted to, but she needed information not for- frustration.

Looking up at her from the dresser draw he was putting back in, "Okay, I can't be the more level headed of the two of us. First, we're in a motel, firing a gun is going to bring the cops. Second, what will you do if someone takes it away from you?" Seeing that she didn't have an answer, he slid the drawer in and continued, "See? You're not ready yet. And the biggest reason is that we can't let our opponent know what you're capable of. How do you expect us to turn this place into a firing range and Ludlum not figure it out?"

Casey noticed that after he was done cleaning up he had pulled out a sanitary cloth and was wiping off the drawers and any smooth surfaces. "We could go to a firing range, or maybe a field. Why are you putting it off?"

Lying down onto his bag and mat, Derek countered with a yawn, "I'm not putting anything off, McDonald. Now I'm going to go take a nap, if anything happens, get into the bathroom and hide in the tub. Hopefully the sides will block any gunfire."

Seeing the tired look in his eyes Casey decided use it against him. "I don't think so Derek. I want answers. Where's the phone? Why are all the windows covered? Who's this opponent you keep talking about? Why won't you trust me?"

Staring up at her from his makeshift bed with that look of his, "In the trunk. To make it next to impossible for anyone to see inside. And you're not ready." He reached into his jacket by his head and tossed her the car keys, adding, "I trust you Case, I just don't know what will happen when you find out everything. Now can I go to sleep or do you still want to play twenty questions?"

Casey caught the keys, ignored the shiver the look gave her, and countered with, "Just two more, jerk. Why is the phone in the trunk and why does this opponent of yours see me as a business rival?"

Derek just gave her a frustrated glare, and after a second gave in, "To help you keep your promise of not talking to anyone we know, and," letting out a long yawn, "who said anything about being a business rival? That psycho thinks we're lovers." Taking Casey's stunned silence as an end to the conversation; he rolled over and quickly fell asleep.

Casey started to wake him up but stopped herself with the thought, _how long had he been awake._ Looking around the room at the redesign, she realized that it must have taken him at least thirty minutes to do everything. Then there was no way of knowing how much longer Derek had driven before he stopped. So if she had slept for five hours, he must have gotten no more than four, if that.

Sitting down at the table, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Derek had gotten her a salad. Taking a sip from the banana smoothie, she found it soothing to her throat. _That probably why he got it_, Casey thought to herself remembering the medical book marked with well-used tabs. Staring at both the invite and the car keys, she felt like she was facing a choice. The invitation was black with styled silver lettering, and seemed like something Casey thought a very formal invite would look like, but it was the words on it that interested her the most:

Mr. Martin Case you and a guest are cordially invited to Lady Regina Grayson's Annual Charity Ball for the Arts this Thursday at 8pm.

Written beneath that in a feminine hand was:

Please do come, I know how you love the arts and it's been so long since we've spoken.

Regina

Casey understandable understood very little of what she read. Derek loving the arts? She had a hard enough getting her head around him possibly being a spy _and_ all but admitting he had feelings for her. This was just unbelievable. Not to mention that before falling asleep Derek had said that their opponent thinks they are lovers. Did he mean him and her or was he talking about the mystery enemy of theirs? Casey needed more information and going to this charity event might answer some of her questions. She also couldn't help but notice that the invitation was to the name she had heard Derek say the night before.

Catching herself looking at her ring finger Casey turned her focus to the keys. Those were good points, but the nightmare and Derek attacking her was making it hard to feel safe around him. She could just leave, find a phone and call the police. They would know what to do. That would put an end to all of this. That was the responsible thing to do; that was the Casey thing to do.

But… But, the fear that crossed Derek's eyes every time the police was mentioned made her think that there was a reason for him to want to keep them out of this. Was he wanted for something? If so, for what? It had to be under an alias, because he was well-known in Kingston with both his hockey skills and his party boy personality. He couldn't think they were all corrupt, bought off by this enigmatic enemy of theirs could he? They were far enough from Kingston that even if that was true, they were safe. The likelihood of it being a prank went down with every passing hour, besides what would be the goal? She was already nervous, more than a little scared, way outside her element, and didn't know how many more surprises she could take. If there was a time to yell 'Gotcha', it was now.

No it wasn't a prank. The pain in her throat could testify to that. When Derek had been choking her, he had believed she was someone he hated, someone he felt deserved to die. And if nothing else tonight had shown that was one thing that Derek didn't feel about her.

Looking down at him, it occurred to her that Derek was sleeping almost like a guard dog, with his back to her and the lifting of his head whenever there was a noise. Taking the keys and putting them into her pocket, Casey decided to go further down this rabbit hole. If for no other reason than because Derek was acting in what he thought was in her best interest and she could do no less for him. _He is after all my jerk in a leather jacket_, she thought to herself; the thought both making her heart speed up a little faster and furrow her brows. _I have got to do something to prove I'm no damsel in distress._

Finishing the salad, Casey started cleaning up the table when she found a note posted under the plate: 'Take a shower McDonald, you stink'. She should have felt insulted, but instead she felt challenged.

Going into the bathroom, she went through her backpack and came back out with what she was looking for. It took a few minutes because Derek wouldn't hold still but when she was done she stepped back and enjoyed her handiwork. After all, he hadn't said there couldn't be pranks. Smiling to herself, Casey decided to listen to the note and take a shower.

About an hour later Casey stepped out feeling mostly refreshed but completely sure of the task she had set out for herself. She felt only mostly refreshed because there seemed to be a nagging sensation that had started the second she had started to undress. She checked to make sure Derek was asleep then had placed a chair right in front of the bathroom opening; that hadn't stopped it. She went as far as to search the room for anything that might be the cause of it. There wasn't a peephole, hidden camera, or even an assassin waiting in the toilet to killer her. Still something had felt off. Casey had even put the shower curtain back up and taken her clothes off in the tub, stopping every few seconds to peek out and see if anyone was out there.

After getting dressed, Casey checked her watch again, half past six, and debated the idea of going back to sleep. She was fully awake but if she was to go dancing tonight and, more importantly, be trying to find clues to what was going on, she needed to be well rested. She was planning on talking with Lady Grayson to find out everything she knew about 'Martin Case' as well as seeing how Derek interacted with a room full of rich intellectuals. Something made her think it wouldn't be as humorous as she once thought it would be. _Better to rest up before the performance, than worry about it._ She wanted to worry about it. Spend the next twelve plus hours trying to piece together the clues and go over Derek and hers shared past with a thin comb for anything that seemed to important in light of what she now knew.

But no, reason surprisingly won out and she decided that if she could fall back asleep she would. To help herself relax, Casey grabbed one of her text books and rested down on the bed. Barely a chapter in, she was drifted off to sleep hoping that this time it was more peaceful than the last.

That hope proved to be futile as she quickly found herself back in Derek's bedroom looking at the naked woman and marveling at his nerve to do this under their family's roof. With her the next room over. Did he really not care about her feelings? Casey thought that they had finally reached a level of respect and understanding.

Maybe she was overreacting. The woman whose identity she wouldn't let herself acknowledge was dating Derek. This could just be the next step in their relationship. Whether she liked it or not, Casey didn't have much to say about it.

From the bed the naked and almost remarkably calm woman spoke up, words barely recognized as the person she was talking to struggled with denied jealous. "Umm Casey, are you okay? You haven't said a word since you saw me." Gesturing to the lights and music, "I know how you feel about Derek, are you fine with this?"

Putting on a brave face, Casey forced herself to not give a sad chuckle in response. "I'm good. Just a little surprised to see you and Derek taking such a big step in your relationship."

The woman blushed at Casey's words and gave out an approving laugh, "Yeah, big is one way to describe it. I was surprised too when Derek invited me over and I found the candles and roses waiting for me." Getting serious, she got up and tried to urge her friend to leave. "Derek is going to be back any minute."

Casey took the hint and was heading for the door when it opened and in walked the man himself. He didn't seem to notice either woman as he took off his jacket and tossed it into a corner. Walking over to the stereo he gave it a confused look before switching it off and grabbing a candle off the top of it. Seeming to just notice that the rest of the candles, Derek turned suddenly to the pair of friends and gave out an angry yell as disgust filled his eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Casey awake suddenly from the memory/dream to find herself back in the motel room. Sitting at the table was the same man she had just seen leering at her in repulsion now glancing up from a newspaper with a look of satisfaction on his face. Tossing a shopping bag at her he said, "About time, Princess. Get dressed. I'm going to show you some dance moves before we head out."


	7. Questions on the Dance Floor

_Sorry for the lateness of this. Turns out that this chapter refused to be cut short. In it, Casey gets a hint as to where Derek's getting his money, Derek starts teaching Casey how to dance aggressively which scares her a more than little, and of course Dasey teasing. As always I ask you to be honest but polite with your reviews. Enjoy.  
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Catching the bag, she glanced in it before giving him a confused look. "I know how to dance, Derek. Remember I had to teach you."

Derek flashed her a smirk as he put the paper down, "There's more than one way to dance, Princess." Standing up from the table, Casey noticed that Derek had changed his clothes to loose fitting sweatpants and only sweatpants, which caused her to blush for a second. Walking towards the door; he continued talking, "Be sure to put everything on, especially the neckwear. I need to get a few things from Carmine's trunk." Pausing long-enough to add with a smirk and a gesture to his forehead where she had used her red highlighter to draw on horns, "And yes I am a handsome devil," closing the door with a laugh.

Casey shared the laugh before turning back to the bag. Inside were sweatpants, a sports bra, fingerless gloves, a wrestling helmet and pads, and a throat guard. How were these related to dancing? Getting up off the bed, she went over to the table to look at the paper. It was a local print, but what surprised her was that it was turned to stock market with notes written in the margins about which ones to buy and which ones to sell. "Oh-kay?"

Going to bathroom, Casey chuckled at the thought that she was getting dressed again only; looking at her watch to see that it was now noon, five hours later. As she took off her shirt, again she was struck by the sensation that someone was watching her. Repeating her action from before, Casey put a chair in front of the bathroom opening and changed in the shower.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she found Derek finish putting down gym mats, all the furniture moved against the wall; giving the room an open feel. Seeing her, he walked over to the dresser and turned on a stereo that Casey was sure wasn't there before. Soft classical music drifted out of the speakers as Derek gentle took her hand and guided her to the center of the room.

Giving her a slight spin, he seemed more to be checking to see if she was wearing everything than checking her out. Finally he stepped back and gave a satisfied, "Perfect." This made Casey blush slightly, not because of the word, but because of the pleased way he said it. After a moment Derek changed his tone to a more professional one and asked, "Everything fit? Nothing too tight? Can you move around? Are you able to breathe okay with the throat guard?"

Casey ignored her first instinct to demand how this had anything to do with dancing and answered his questions instead. "Everything's fine, Derek, but," gesturing to the room and then herself; the weights in the gloves becoming noticeable with the motions of her hands, "what's this all about?"

Continuing with the professionalism he responded, "Me teaching you how to dance aggressively. Should Ludlum or our opponent try to end the performance early, the few moves I'm going to show you will keep the routine going until I can take care of the interruptions."

'Dance aggressively', 'end the performance early', 'keep the routine going', 'interruptions'? Casey was about to ask him to talk straight when the oblivious answer came to her. "You're teaching me how fight?"

Keeping with the professional tone, Derek countered with, "No. I'm instructing you in how to be forceful in your dancing should your partner try and take you off the dance floor." As he talked, she looked into his eyes and saw his desire to pretend. To act like they weren't hiding in a motel room, that he was talking about how to stay in control during a performances and not how to stay alive if someone should attack her.

Casey felt that she shouldn't end the charade and responded with, "Only if you teach me how to spit."

A pleased smirk danced a cross his lips for second before he answered, "Fine. I'll take you out to a field tomorrow and show you how to hawk like a pro." Stepping up to her, Derek began gently moving her body into a more defensive pose. "Now the first thing you have to remember about aggressive dancing is that you're always in constant competition with your partner. Even when it seems that you're the one driving the routine, with one move they can overshadow you. Never underestimate your partner, not for second, and be on the lookout for anything that they can use to their advantage." Casey focused on what he was saying, knowing that it was important, but couldn't but notice the hesitation and quickness in his touches as he shifted her body around. Each was tender and precise yet there was a hint that he wanted to linger, to hold her for a second longer than he did. This train of thought was ended by Derek shouting, "React!" and throw a punch at her head.

With no thought, Casey pulled back and preformed a ballerina spin; her leg connecting with his right side. After a second, she realized what had happened, "What the hell, Derek?" Her throat flared for a second with a pain which she ignored.

Grabbing her leg, Derek shoved it away putting Casey temporarily off balance. "Good, but you need to react faster. Only touch your partner long enough for the routine, never linger. Focus only on the next step, never stop moving." To prove his point, he dropped down as he spoke and took a kicking swipe at her leg, sending her to tumbling onto the floor. Reaching down, he gently pulled her back up, stopping only long enough to see that she was alright, before taking another swing at her.

Casey again dodged and did a spin, but this time when Derek shoved her leg away, which she expected, she used the momentum to perform yet another spin that closed the distance between them and hit him on his other side with even more force.

Before she could pull away, he responded by grabbing her leg and pulled Casey closer to him. For a second there was hint of approval in his voice before slipping back to his serious tone, "Better, but," he caressed her thigh as his hand passed up to her waist, grabbing her with both hands and tossed her down on the floor, "our rivals need you to be the best."

Landing with a thud, Casey decided to stay on the ground. Derek's actions were frightening her. He was being completely serious, no hints of his trademark smirk on his face. He was also eerily quiet, only speaking to continue his lecture. The only thing personable that he had done in the last five minutes was the stroking and even that felt more like a reflex than intentional. She had enough. When he reached to pick her up, she leapt up and knocked him down with her knee. Standing over Derek, she stared daggers at him, "Are you trying to hurt me?"

Looking up from the floor, Derek checked his lip and seemed to be disappointed to not find himself bleeding. "I didn't even want you involved with this. You need to learn how to fight and we don't have enough time for me to go easy on you." Pointing to the pads and helmet, he continued, "That's why you're wearing all that." Wrapping his legs around Casey he pulled her down on top of him. As she landed he rolled himself over her, pinning her to the ground. For a second he cupped her face, before yanking it back as if he had touched something hot. "Damn it. Get back up; we only have four hours to make you a fighter." After a moment, he realized that he was holding her down and got up, walking to the other side of room.

Staring at him, Casey shouted before thinking, "Quit doing that!" as she stood up, her throat surging with agony with her outburst. This time she was barely able to hide her pain, but she refused to let Derek know much pain she was in.

Giving her a questioning look, he shouted back, "What, trying to keep you alive? I'm sorry that you got dragged into this, but you're here and we have to deal with it."

Storming across the room, Casey pointed her finger at him. "Not the rescue, but I could have taken care of that too." She felt conflicted between wanting to know what was going on and not wanting to argue with Derek.

Calmly moving her hand away, he countered with "I noticed, Princess. You did a great job of pretending to paralyzed with terror." As he spoke his eyes seemed to be studying her before slipping back into that look of his.

Ignoring the shiver she felt at his touch and look, Casey responded with. "Yes I was afraid, but I would have gotten out of it. What makes you think that you have the right to be my bodyguard?"

After tossing his hands up into the air, he answered right back, counting the reasons on his fingers. "Because I know the players. I know their goals. I have the training. You barely have a clue as to what is going on. And the biggest reason is that I've been doing it since you moved into London."

"Wha-?" She again shouted without thinking. This time the pain of her bruised throat caused her to choke on the word and she reached for her neck.

With nimble hands, Derek stopped her. Slipping the throat guard off, he tossed it onto the bed and held her hand away before she could touch it. Guiding her to the table, he made her sit down as he reached into the medical bag and gently pressed an ice pack against her throat. Casey heard the guilt and open concern in his voice as he spoke, "Be careful with your voice, I want to spend a lot more years waking up to you screaming at me."

Taking her hand, he made her hold the ice pack as he pulled his hand away. Casey barely heard him mumble as he stepped toward something near the door, "A stupid dream I know."

A moment later he returned with a banana flavored freezie which he tore open and handed to Casey. Taking a long sip from it, she felt the ice slide down her throat easing the fire that burned there. Speaking softly, she leveled her eyes on Derek as he removed a corner of tape to look at the window. "What are you talking about?"

Seeming satisfied that no one was out there he leaned against the door. "Oh come on Case, you're brighter than that. I told you last night that this psycho b- being has been trying to kill you from the moment we meant. Did you really think that they were just really bad at it until now?"

"I hadn't really thought about," furrowing her brows in thought. Which was true; she hadn't thought about. She hadn't really had time to. Between falling asleep during the ride, being attacked by Derek, fighting with Derek about the attack, searching the room for clues, and trying to calm down, the fact that someone had been making attempts on her life without her noticing had somehow slipped her mind. But even with a little thought, the only effort she could think of was all of Derek's pranks. Opening her eyes in surprise, she looked at Derek in horror. "Those weren't pranks you were pulling, they were rescues.


	8. Talk and Fight or Fight and Talk

_Sorry for the delay. This chapter starts with a statement and ends with a question. As the fight restarts we learn where the money comes from and a little bit about how Kendra, Emily, and Sally fit into this conspiracy. And of course more Dasey. As always please be honest but polite with your reviews and enjoy._

"Those weren't pranks you were pulling, they were rescues." The realization/accusation hung in the air for a minute as Casey just stared at quite possibly the most important person in her life. How could she have not noticed? Why had it taken almost four years to see the conflict happening around her? What had Derek been forced to do or not do to keep the masquerade up? When had it begun?

Finally, he spoke up, stopping her train of thought. "Yes." It was only one word but Derek said it with such assertion that it felt like he had said so much more. Casey couldn't help but notice that his tone seemed to be mixed with fear and hesitation instead of relief almost as if he hadn't wanted her to figure it out. She would have thought she had imaged it if he hadn't continued after the short pause, his tone confirming what she had heard before. "I had to do it that way because you couldn't know the danger you were in, but I could make you more aware than you were before. You began noticing traps and learned to be sneaky," his tone lightened to a more playful nature and a smirk started to form across his face, "or at least as sneaky as a keener like you could be."

As he spoke, Derek walked back over to her and peeked at her throat. Satisfied that it was healing just fine, he took the ice pack from her and walked toward the door area. This time Casey stood up to see that there was a Styrofoam icebox by the door where he placed the ice pack inside and she also saw that it was almost overflowing with freezies. Noticing that she had seen the icebox, he shrugged, "I know us. We always fight and when we did, you were going to strain your voice yelling at me." Looking at his watch, Derek cursed, "Damn it. We can continue this while I train you," and walked back to the center of the room, gesturing for her to follow.

If Casey were not already standing, she would have literally jumped at the chance to get back to hitting Derek and him letting her. Instead, she just put the throat guard back on, walked back to where she was minutes ago, took the stance he had showed her and started to ask her questions, "Where did you find the time? You've dated most of the girls in our class, I don't see how you could do that and play superspy. What did you do, pay the girls to say you were with them and then go across town and blow up a warehouse?" Casey almost laughed out the last part. It was crazy. The whole thing was crazy and she just knew that anytime now, her alarm would go off and she would be back in her bedroom waking up from this insane nightmare. For real this time.

Derek nodded in approval of her stance and said, "Yeah, I paid them. Well most of them. From time to time, I would pretend to date just so it wouldn't look too suspicious. Do you really think I would have dated Kendra if I didn't need too?" A look of annoyance crossed his face as he mentioned his ex; moving suddenly he got behind Casey and delivered a knee strike to her left side, send a quick shot of pain up her body. "And keep your mind on fighting me."

Ignoring the pain, Casey spun around to face Derek and continued her questions, "How could you pay them? You kept borrowing money from Edwin because you were always broke." She punctuated her statement with a quick jab to his face.

Derek casually dodged the jab and appeared right behind her, his face uncomfortably close beside hers. "Not bad, but you need to move faster." Moving in front of her, he gestured for her to try again and answered her question. "I was never broke. I just needed to seem like I had no money, plus it gave Edweirdo more incentive to not be like me."

Casey swung again, this time aiming for his normally smirking mouth, which didn't want to kiss. Not. AT. **ALL.** Derek's shift from acting like they weren't fighting to admitting what it was and becoming even more violent was more than a little frightening; but she tried to focus it and her growing anger into the fights, both the physical and the mental ones. "Last I checked Jerk, laziness and self-love are not money. And why would you need to 'appear broke'."

Yanking his head back, Derek gave an approval nod, "Better, but," grabbing her hand before she could pull it back, he twisted her arm behind her back, restraining her; "you're still lingering too long. Laziness and self-love were just part of the act; the money is in stocks and bonds under an assumed name. And I did it that way because I didn't want our opponent knowing more about me than I did them. It was a tactical advantage that I needed."

Hitting him in the stomach with her elbow, she countered, "Let me get this straight, you're saying you paid your dates, even Sally and Emily?" Casey didn't want to hear his answer. To hear how what she had seen was not what was really happening; but she had to know.

Letting go of her arm, Derek pushed Casey away from him. "Better. But next time aim lower. Our enemies won't fight clean, so we can't either." To prove his point, he lounged forward and grabbed her hair, letting go after a second, but giving her the idea that if he wanted to, he could have pulled it. Circling her, Derek let out a frustrated sigh, "Sally and Emily." Casey caught hints of anger and guilt in his voice as he said their names. After a second he continued, "They were special cases. Sally was an attempt to see if I could feel for someone else, maybe even draw our opponent's attention off you while I was at it. While I did care about her and I wanted to love her, I couldn't." Returning to his lecturing tone, he stopped on her left side, took a defensive stance and said, "Use your legs more, they're stronger and they'll keep your opponent at a distant. Do a spin kick."

Casey's eyes never left Derek as he had moved around her, listening, but not sure, if she believed what he was saying. She had seen Derek with Sally. If that was him trying to feel love, what did that say about how he was with someone he loved? The thought making her heart speed up a little more. But it slowed back down as she remembered what she had seen last summer. Doing as Derek asked, Casey whipped her leg around aiming for his head and said, "And Emily?"

Throwing up his forearms to block the kick, he answered, "Good. She was part of treaty between our opponent and me. In exchange for me dating Emily and getting you back with Truman, they would stop with the attempts on your life." Stepping back, Derek swung at her with a hammer fist at a slow pace.

Easily dodging the swing, Casey did a spin kick, hitting him in the back and knocking him down, "Was sleeping with her and lying about it part of the deal as well?"

Rolling into a crouched position, he did another swipe kick, "Better." Then he countered her accusation with, "I never slept with Emily."

This time Casey expected the attack and jumped out of the way. "I know what I saw, Jerk. And even if I didn't, comforting her after our fight made it impossible to miss." Casey couldn't believe he was still trying to lie about it. Angered by this she took a kick at his head.

Derek just dodged her foot before lunging at her, pinning her to the ground. His voice was strained with frustration as he said, "What you saw wasn't what happened. Our opponent arranged things so that you would get the wrong idea." Sliding back to his instructing voice, but this time there was a hint of anger, he added, "You were winning until you let your emotions get the better of you. One of the best ways to get into your rival's head is to just talk, get them focused on what you're saying and not what you're doing. That's why I'm on top."

As he spoke, his hand seeming to be acting on its own reached up and cupped her face; his eyes not even trying to hide the fact he wanted to kiss her. Casey couldn't help but notice the disconnect between his words and his actions. Suddenly realizing what he said, Derek quickly got off the floor and walked to the other side of the room. "Sorry, that wasn't right. You're more than able to take care of yourself."

Slowly getting off the floor, Casey studied Derek for a minute. He appeared conflicted, the joyful prankster that she had known for years seemed to be at war with the serious man she had met less than a day ago. While the prankster wanted to just to flash a smirk and act like everything was okay, his grimmer half looked as if he had done something unforgivable. Having an idea to what was making him so torn; she took a deep breath and asked the question she had been wondering for years, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of asking it here and now. "Why have we never kissed?


	9. The Reason Why

_Sorry for the delay, seems that I will have to change my update back to once every couple of months again. In brighter news, my notes show me that I've been writing this story for a year now and gained a few followers during that time. Thank you for reading my tale and giving your opinions, they have helped me get better at this hobby of mine and hopefully I will only get even better. In this chapter Derek answers Casey's question, but still leaves her confused by the end, and we finally meet Mr. Martin Case.  
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"Why have we never kissed?" Casey asked again, wanting to know the answer, but afraid of what it might be.

Smugly leaning against the door, Derek flashed his trademark smirk and said, "Well I could ask you the same thing."

Casey was about to shout his name, when he raised a hand in surrender, "Okay, I'll give you a straight answer." His demeanor returning to his more serious one as he continued, "First off, Marti loves our family and if I screwed that up because I did what I wanted, she would hate me for the rest of my life." A look of unease crossed his face on at just the thought of his sister detesting him. Shaking it off, he went on with, "Second, look at how our opponent reacted with us just being under the roof. Imagine what they would have done if we got involved. I try to plan every interaction with you but," Derek gave her that look again, before adding, "You make it difficult."

Hiding the shiver going down her spine, Casey asked, "How?" She was getting answers, but wasn't sure if she believed them. While it was true that Derek would do anything for Marti, he had said involved, alluding to a relationship with her, and she seen firsthand that wasn't something he was good with. Right?

Derek saw the hesitation in her and answered with, "I told you before you make me feel alive, but its more than that. You and Marti are the only people I feel comfortable around. Yeah, I can kid around with Sam and Ralph, but at the end of the day, it's just me pretending to be the partier; an act so that our opponent doesn't know what I'm really doing." A small smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Marti is just so full of life that I can't help not feeling less of a burden when I'm with her. And you…" The smile shifted a little, hinting at a sense of relief, "It's a nice change of pace to match wits with someone when lives aren't on the line."

Casey just looked at him for a minute, "Wait, are you flirting with me?"

Giving her a slight grin, he answered, "Whenever I can, McDonald. Whenever I can. Like I said, you and Marti are the closest thing I get to unmarred joy. So yes, I'm going to flirt with you every chance I get, but that's as far as I'm going with it. Especially now."

"What does that mean?!" Casey prodded. Again she felt like she was getting answers, but they were going to be few and very vague.

Pointing at her, Derek counted with, "Look at yourself, Case. You just found out someone is trying to kill you and it scares you. You're ready to freak out at any moment, but keep going because you can't leave a puzzle half down and you don't want to give me the satisfaction of seeing you sweat. It would be easy for me to take advantage of you just by being the only familiar face you know."

"I'm not some weak-" Casey started to say.

"LET ME FINISH!" Derek shouted.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he went to the door, moved the covering off, opened it, and stuck his head out for a minute. When Casey tried to ask him a question, he just signaled for her to wait a second. Pulling his head back in, he said, "Okay, nobody heard that."

Casey was about to chew Derek out for shouting at her when he said something that surprised her. "I'm sorry for yelling." But it wasn't just the words; again, there was a look of self-reprimand on his face.

After a minute of silence, Derek continued, no hint of joy at the silent woman's expanse. If anything, his expression was grimmer than it been before. "This is what I was talking about," gesturing between them, "We should be training in case Ludlum or his crazy employer attack and instead we're arguing about whether I think you're some damsel in need of saving." Seeing her getting ready to argue again, he quickly added a firm, "I don't," before looking at his watch and letting out a small sigh. "It's about two thirty right now, let's pack up everything and head to the hotel."

Casey gave him a questioning look, "Isn't it a little early?"

Derek shook his head, "No," gesturing around the room, "Clean-up will take half an hour and the hotel is about an hour drive from here; that will leave us about four hour to get you ready for the ball, Princess."

"Isn't four hours a bit much for getting ready?" Casey asked, confessed by the answer.

"Physically yes, but mentally not even close. Take off that gear and help me clean up." Derek went to stereo and stopped the classical music; after a moment, the speakers shrieked with heavy metal that drowned out all other sound. Casey had almost forgotten about the radio, but now with whatever was pouring out of it, that seemed unlikely to happen again.

In the bathroom, she stripped off the gloves and plotted a small plan that wouldn't help in the end, but would make her feel better, she just had to wait for the right moment. Putting the sparing equipment back into her backpack, a small smile appeared on her face.

Coming back out, Casey found that Derek had stacked the mats against the wall beside the cooler and was stripping the bed and putting the beddings into a big black trash bag. On seeing her, he pointed to the keys on the table then to the outside, indicating at getting something from the car.

While she was unsure of what he wanted, Casey decided to play up her uncertainty for her little plan she reached for the radio to turn it down. Moving fast, Derek dropped the trash bag and crossed the room, grabbing her wrist and leaned in close to whisper into her ear. "Don't. We need to keep the sound cover." Placing the keys into her hand, he said, "There is a clear bag in the trunk. Grab it and bring it in."

Bringing her hands up, Casey cradled Derek's face and leaned in for a kiss. As she had expected, he yanked his head back and opened himself up for her attack. She drove her knee into his crotch, keeling him over. Whispering into his ear, she made sure that he could understand every word, "I. Can. Take. Care. Of. Myself."

But the look of approval on Derek's face made her victory seemed even smaller than it already was and even with the music blasting she could understand the words he mouthed in suppressed pain "Good one Case."

Storming out in anger, Casey couldn't help but feel manipulated and used. She wanted to get her hands on the mastermind behind this plot and show both him and Derek that she didn't need to be saved, just told straight out what was going on.

Popping the trunk, she found the inside was divided into tightly compact compartments, each section labeled in a language that she didn't recognize at first. Then she did. "Why is it in Latin?" she asked to no one. Grabbing the clear sealed bag sitting on top, she closed the lid and headed back in, even more confused. The bag contained a matching set of bedding that Derek had been stuffing into the trash bag.

Walking back in, Casey's anger increased as she saw that he was back up on his feet continuing the sterilizing of the room, no hint of discomfort at her attack. On seeing her, he gestured for her to put the bag on the table and help him move it back into place. After they set down, Derek opened up the bag that held the tools and pulled out a tape measure. Stretching it out from the wall, he checked a few notes written on a paper, seeing if the numbers matched.

After they took down the beads and put them into another trash bag, Casey held the door as Derek screwed the hinges back on. While he tested to make sure it was on properly, she realized that the stereo drowned out the sounds of the power tool, making her groan that she had missed such an obvious fact.

Finally, while she collected the black coverings and wiped down the room, Derek pried the nails off the bathroom window, applied something to the holes, hiding them from notice, and made the bed with the new pillow, blanket, and sheets.

Filling the trunk with the bags and gym mats, they put the trash bags and the cooler behind the seats. Casey was surprised by the organization that Derek displayed, he went as far as to make sure that Casey could reach into the back and grab a freezie if she needed one.

The drive to the hotel was uneventful except for Derek pulling off the side of the road and burning the trash bags. Pouring a small chemical over the bundle, he only had to drop a single match for them to be engulfed in flames. For forty minutes, Derek just stared into the bonfire, his expression almost stone-faced, only his eye seeming to reflect the fire. He didn't seemed to notice Casey, as he just continued to poke the fire with a stick, ensuring that everything was scorched beyond recognition. The flames eventually died down and he heaped dirt on top of the ash, his eyes clearing as he worked.

To Casey, he seemed to come out of a haze as climbed back into the car and drove the car back onto the road. With a somber tone, he asked her pick any station to listen to, anything as long as it was something upbeat. She finally settled on a station playing hits from the Eighties, and soon found herself singing along.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up into the front of an expensive hotel where a valet walked up and opened the door for Casey, who suddenly felt very much underdressed. The man looked at her with disapproval but his expression quickly changed as he caught sight of Derek. "Oh Mister Case, I didn't realize that she was with you."

Derek stared daggers at the man and with an annoyed tone, he said, "Of course she's with me, you fool. We just left the gym and did not have time to change." As he continued to speak, Casey realized that Derek's voice had gained a New England accent. "Take Miss Swan to my suite and summon the modiste, she needs a presentable gown for tonight's ball. Then have the cosmetologists brought in to heighten her beauty. I will not have my fiancée outshined by anyone. I expect to see progress when I return." Then to Casey's surprise, he kissed the back of her hand, "Don't worry Sandra, my dear, in no time everything will be back to normal and you can get back to your books."

Casey saw in Derek's eyes a silent plea to go along with the charade. Curious as to what was going on, she decided to go along with whatever was going on, but still to show that she would not be out done, she leaned over and kissed him on the check, saying in a similar accent, "Of course, Marty. But when you get back, you must finish explaining what the simpleton Derek was thinking pulling a stunt like that."

A quick smirk past a crossed his lips, "Yes, that buffoon enjoys his fun. But he will be punished soon enough, I do believe."

Allowing the valet to help her out, she responded, "That I cannot wait to see," and the uniformed man closed the door behind her.

After watching the black corvette pull away, Casey turned to the doorman and saw that the man's face had paled and was covered in sweat. "Sorry for the misunderstanding Ms. Swan, shall we get you ready for the ball?"


End file.
